Industrial tourism: companies welcome companies

Every year, almost 12 million people visit 2,500 businesses in France to discover what goes on behind the scenes. Some of them have been awarded the "Living Heritage Company" label, a mark of recognition that the French government has introduced to distinguish French companies - whether craft or industrial - with excellent know-how. The most popular sectors are agri-food (40 %) and wines and spirits (20 %), sectors that have long been familiar with this type of reception. Next in line are craft industries (17 %), technological industries, particularly those specialising in aeronautics and energy (15 %), and finally fashion and cosmetics (8 %). According to Cécile Pierre, General Secretary of the Entreprise et Découverte association, "Although 90 % of companies are SMEs, more and more large companies are now offering this type of visit."

A plea for taste

For those who play the game, the spin-offs are significant, in terms of image and marketing - 95 % have a shop - as well as internal communication through promoting know-how their employees. For Véronique Britto, Sales Director of the Azaïs-Polito canning factory in Sète, welcoming the companies is part of a campaign to promote taste: "We're the town's last cannery and the fourth generation to run this small family business specialising in fish-based ready meals, particularly soups. For the past fifty years, our products have been made with respect for the traditions of Sète. We buy our fish at the Sète and Adge auctions, prepare our dishes by hand and pass on our recipes from father to son. We welcome groups to share our experience."

This trend is part of the "made in France" movement. Today's consumers, anxious not to buy "stupid" products, want to know where they come from and how they are produced. manufacturing secrets. Especially if the production takes place just a stone's throw from his home. The 2016 release of Guide du Routard de la visite d'entreprise (French only) (Hachette) responds to this new form of tourism, listing nearly 400 French companies indexed by business sector and classified by region.

"Some are more dynamic than others," says Cécile Pierre, General Delegate of the Association de la visite d'entreprise (AVE). This is the case in Seine-Saint-Denis, for example."Vincent Chartier, head of promotion for the department's tourist board, explains that ".Seine-Saint-Denis was a pioneer in industrial tourism. In 1998, when the Tourism Committee was set up, we set out from the outset to promote business and leisure tourism sites, and then to showcase all the key players in the region.". The 93 has an important industrial heritage and a very dense economic fabric with the presence of major companies such as RATP, Aéroports de Paris, Archives nationales, Placoplatre, PSA, Cité du Cinéma, Météo France and L'Oréal. To capitalise on this potential, the tourist board has set up a number of partnerships. Mathilde Christnacht, Head of Development, explains: "To help as many people as possible get to know our economic wealth, we have chosen to take visitors to the heart of a company's activity, while giving them the opportunity to talk to company staff.

See what goes on behind the scenes, find out about manufacturing processes: these initiatives are now being a resounding success. Companies indicate their availability and the CDT (Comité Départemental du Tourisme) takes charge of communication, guidance and supervision of groups, with tours commented by an employee of the company. To meet the demands of business tourism, the CDT has set up a specialised department that organises à la carte tours. "We're currently on a learning expedition, in other words, discovering other corporate cultures. We have the potential, and it's up to us to show that our industries can serve as a model for others."explains Vincent Chartier. In this context, the département is also highlighting ongoing projects such as site clean-ups, the modernisation of the Gare du Nord, the refurbishment of the Pantin SNCF station and the construction of the future Mairie de Saint-Ouen metro station, which will be completed in June 2018.

In the same way, other local authorities are offering groups the chance to preview behind the scenes of a project. The Val-de-Marne is showcasing its major projects to incentives. In 2018, small groups will exceptionally be able to see for themselves the progress of work on line 15 South of the Grand Paris Express, which is due to open in 2022. At Champigny-sur-Marne, they will be welcomed at the Maison du Métro by a local agent who will give them a presentation of this 200 km automatic metro project, unveil models of the future Champigny Centre and Bry-Villiers-Champigny stations, and take them on a tour of the Champigny technical centre.

The Val-de-Marne has some very interesting industrial potential, for example, France's largest postal sorting centreat Wissous. On a nine-hectare site, the Paris-Sud Wissous mail processing centre (PIC) handles daily traffic of around ten million items. At the cutting edge of technology, the PIC sorts incoming and outgoing mail for businesses and private customers in 10 Paris arrondissements, the whole of Essonne, part of Val-de-Marne and part of Hauts-de-Seine. The guided tour, punctuated by discussions with staff, lasts almost two hours.

Another fascinating venue for groups is the Rungis International Market, the largest fresh produce market in the world! A veritable city within the city, it covers 232 hectares, boasts over 1,400 companies and employs 12,000 people. Wandering through its various pavilions, seeing this human anthill and its daily waltz of nearly 26,000 vehicles is a most unusual experience. For early risers onlyThe tour starts at 4.30!

In another region, Lorraine, historically rich in industry, here's another tour that's just as fascinating, that of the workshops of the Émaux de Longwy factory, which is open on weekdays to 20 participants and on request on Saturdays, to up to 30 visitors. The workshops are employees who guide toursThey explain their work and answer questions. For almost an hour, visitors can explore the workshops and see the different stages in the production process, from mould making to casting, enamelling, gold plating and crackling.

Secrets of history

In keeping with the tradition of great companies with a rich history, the Aigle brand in Ingrandes, Vienne, is unveiling its manufacturing secrets. The factory houses the design and manual production of the famous rubber boots. "165 years of history, that's something to share!"exclaims Yves Trousselle, Director of Corporate Social Responsibility. A meeting with an authentic master rubber-maker is one of the highlights of a visit to the plant. in small groups of five to 15 people. They see the raw materials being mixed, cut, moulded and baked, and finally the products being stored and tested. "The B-to-B groups are also given an explanation of the Aigle logo, as well as a tour of our innovation, research and quality workshops. For my part, I explain our environmental and social policy, a commitment that is very strong at Aigle."says Yves Trousselle. The visit, which generally lasts around two hours, is limited to two days a week, as it is the employees themselves who comment on it.

In the same spirit, it was the desire to share its expertise that prompted another historic company, the Paccard foundry in Haute-Savoie, to welcome the companies. Founded in 1796, it is one of France's oldest companies, and is one of the world's most famous foundries. world reference in church bells and carillon foundries, with the largest bell in France, the Savoyarde, installed at the Sacré-Coeur in Montmartre. A behemoth weighing in at 18,835 kg, it can't compare with another of the foundry's achievements: the flying bell for the Millennium Monument in Newport, USA. At 33 tonnes, it's the biggest in the world!

Carillon concert

To trace the history of this instrument, the seventh generation of the Paccard family has opened a museum adjoining the foundry. Groups of up to a hundred people are entitled to a guided tour of the workshops with a chance to see the weekly casting of the bells every Thursday. Visits can also be organised on other days, on request and at night, all culminating in a carillon concert.

The Lewarde mining centre is just one of a number of historic sites, but one that is even more striking because it evokes the sweat and toil of men since the Industrial Revolution. It is far from being an indifferent place, even if today it is a more... light-hearted visit. Located eight kilometres from Douai, it is set on a the floor of the former Delloye pit of the Compagnie des mines d'Aniche. The eight-hectare site includes a mine museum, a documentation resource centre and an energy science centre.

With almost 150,000 visitors a year, it is one of the most visited sites in the region, hosting seminars for immersion in the world of mining. The programme includes a tour of the buildings of the former Delloye pit, a guided tour of the galleries and a meeting with a former miner. "Companies are using the values of the mine - courage, solidarity and mutual aid - to get a message across to their employees," says Karine Sprimont, Communications Director.

Another major French industrial brand, Peugeot, opens the doors of its historic headquarters. In Sochaux, the Peugeot-Citroën museum and production plant regularly welcome incentive groups. In teams of around thirty people, visitors see the different stages of production and the assembly lines. "For most of them, it was a real discovery. By talking to the workers, they understand assembly line working conditions and a lot of preconceptions fall away"says Laurence Weiss, Head of the Incoming Department.

For her part, Anaïs Le Roy, head of business tourism at Saint-Nazaire Agglomération Tourisme, notes "that companies want a visit that reflects an issue they are facing and want to see how others are dealing with it. The issues raised are generally those of safety and quality."In the Pays de Loire region, the main sectors present are marine renewable energy (MRE), shipbuilding and aeronautics. A la carte visits are organised for incentives for up to fifty people. Saint-Nazaire is home to two major centres of excellence: the STX shipyards, with a major research department specialising in renewable energies, and Airbus, with the second largest production site in France after Toulouse. Parts of the A380 and A320 fuselages are assembled and equipped on site. Visitors can see the aircraft before they are fitted out: rivets aligned, windows fitted, vital circuits installed in a cockpit... The lucky ones can even see the Beluga, a huge cargo plane that picks up sections of the aircraft to transport them to Hamburg or Toulouse.

The capital of Occitania takes pride of place at the heart of a region with a dense industrial fabric. "While many companies are open to business tourism, as is the case with Airbus, some only welcome this clientele on a case-by-case basis: EDF Bazacle, Airbus Bizlab, Iot Valley Sigfox, Capgémini, Berger Levrault, start-up accelerators and even Véolia Eau, a wastewater treatment plant that is receiving more and more requests."says Sylvie Rouillon Valdiguié, vice-president of Toulouse Métropole's attraction agency, in charge of tourism policies and promotion.

Sustainable development

It's true that entities specialising in sustainable development and renewable energy are popular. For example, since 2015, Compagnie Nationale du Rhône (CNR), France's leading producer of 100% renewable electricity, has been accepting business visitors. "We have two major flagships: Génissiat, in the Ain region, which includes a dam and a power station, and Bollène, in the Vaucluse region, which includes a hydroelectric power station, a wind farm and two photovoltaic farms. We are currently investing three million euros in renovating these facilities, in particular, the development of spaces adapted to the public. Génissiat will reopen to groups in early 2018 and Bollène in April 2018."warns Sylvain Colas, Communications Director.

When they were built in the 1950s, these two sites were extremely innovative. Bollène, whose facade is now a listed building, was the most productive in Europe and had the largest lock in the world... Something like new architecture in a beautiful old building.